Cleveland Fusion

Trying something out here.

Cleveland Fusion

Happy Kwanzaa!

It is that time of the year. Some folks are gearing up for the next big holiday while many are celebrating Kwanzaa. It is such a wonderful concept - celebrate seven principles over as many days. I really began to celebrate Kwanzaa when I lived in Buffalo. Kwanzaa is a big deal there, so much so, that the founder of Kwanzaa, Dr. Maulana Karenga, often visits the city during their annual celebration. I also have a friend in Buffalo who hosts a gathering each year on the seventh and final day of Kwanzaa. It is a good time with good people and great food, oh and music too.

Kwanzaa is much more than I have to the time to elaborate on at this time, but do some research and start the new year off a bit wiser.

Happy Kwanzaa.

Christmas! Yay!

Christmas! Yay!
Originally uploaded by Mulletar.

It seems this holiday will not stop coming, huh?

I can't believe that I missed most of the countdown and the hype. But I'm in it now: shopping, holiday cards and beverages. Oh, and the music. Well, that seems to saturate the radio and the places where I shop.

I'm hosting a holiday party on Saturday evening. I am still undecided on what to wear. I have lots of options, but I need to decide and soon because then I need to coordinate the other accessories...

The one thing that I would like to do, but I won't have the time to do is bake holiday cookies. I have a cookie press that I love to use. Well, I'm still going to use it, just not for Christmas cookies. The cookie press has been around for years. I remember when my grandmother used to use hers for baking cookies (though you can use it for others things as well like frosting). It is so fun to use and the cookie recipe is quite simple.

Here's to a wonderful Christmas 2006!

2006 - Coming to a close

The end of the year lists are starting to proliferate. I love hip hop and my fav group is The Roots. So I, like a lot of their fans, are tracking their progress in the year end listings - they are not getting nearly enough love ...

For example, Rolling Stone mag dropped their '06 lineup. And after I reviewed it, I thought "Well, I'm glad that The Roots got a lil look-see, but that list, well it's really a 'pop-culture-mainstream-slash-MTV-for-print' list. Shame on Stone for disparaging the legacy of that publication.

To give you an idea of what I mean, Fergie's "London Bridge" is higher on the list than The Roots. Of course, I am biased toward my fav band, but come on now ... (and I am not even going to start to try to defend my position on this one - it should be obvious, unless, of course, you like "London Bridge").

I really would like to go on a tirade about the RS list, but the truth of the matter is that it's not worth it ... I think I'll get some rest instead, but my list is forthcoming.

It pays to be in the holiday spirit!

I work in the media, so I often trudge around to various media related blogs, websites and sometimes, I actually pick up a hard copy of a newspaper and read it ... I'll have to save that story for another day and time.

This here blog is about a trend that I just learned existed; I found the info surfing the web, of course. I probably didn't know about this because I am not a homeowner or just not in the 'know'. It's the holiday season and as busy as I am, I did make time to put up my holiday tree. However, during my comings and goings from home to the office, I've seen more and more streets lit up with holiday lights - I did say streets, since so many homes have these elaborate lighting displays. Well, I certainly have not found time to do that and it's way too cold now, huh? At any rate, whether it's too cold, you don't have time, you have 'ladder-phobia' ... whatever ... I learned from Poynter.org that professional decorators are on the rise (if you can hire a landscaper, why not a professional holiday decorator ...?).

So if this is the kind of thing that you are good at, the skill set could definitely put an additional gift or two under the Christmas tree. Seems landscapers could work nearly year round now (btw, who says you have to wait until December to hang all those lights; not to mention that many holiday items are now available in mid-October. Ole frugal me says make those purchases at the end of the current holiday season).

And doesn't this brings an entirely different meaning to keeping up w/the Joneses, doesn't it?

(photo courtsey of Flickr)

Why is it ...

...that people show up to places that demand some sort of quiet disposition for some extended amount of time and they can't handle it?

What am I talking about, you say? You know, the movies, the theatre, etc.

So I drag myself to campus to see some student directed plays. I was feeling awfully bad: headache, fever, misery ... But I go to support my department and some of my students. It did not have to be a sneering and agitating evening, but it was - in part because of a rude theatre-goer; a student! Did the disrespectful student sit behind me? Now, what do you think?

There was a great deal of crumpling papers and candy wrappers; slurping from some beverage (you know the sound when using a straw and there is nothing left in the container ... btw, who permitted beverages in the theatre anyway?).

Then said student has some large bag and consistently hit me in the head with it. When it was time for intermission, I turn around and blantantly ask "Let me see who keeps hitting me in the head ...". The 'can't-sit-still' student does apologize.

I just don't get the rudeness. In order for people to hear what is going on on stage, it should be quiet in the audience. I resisted the urge to glare at the disruptive student after the intermission, when they continued to ruffle papers and wiggle around.

So I ask myself (and you), where do you learn theatre etiquette?

Enough about the 'not-so-postive' threatre experience. You want to know how the plays were, now don't you? I am going to withhold comment ...